New York has more coverage options than almost any state, and that is exactly why people end up uninsured here: the door you need is open, but nobody tells you which door it is.
Three facts decide most of the answer: your household income against the federal poverty level, your age, and your immigration status. Everything below is organized around those three.
Start with the shortest path
If you want the answer before the reading, the eligibility navigator asks five questions and shows which programs are open to you. It runs in your browser, stores nothing, and links to the page for each program it names.
If you prefer the numbers directly: every 2026 income threshold, by household size.
The programs, by who they are for
Low income, any age — Medicaid. The broadest coverage in the state and the only one that covers long-term care. Roughly 138% of the federal poverty level for working-age adults, substantially higher for pregnant patients and children. Applications accepted every month of the year.
Ages 19–64, income up to 200% FPL — the Essential Plan. $0 monthly premium, no deductible, comprehensive benefits. Also year-round. Its upper tier was eliminated on July 1, 2026, which moved about 450,000 people to marketplace plans — what that means if you were among them.
Children under 19 — Child Health Plus. Covered regardless of immigration status, at family income limits well above the adult thresholds. Many households that qualify for nothing as adults qualify for their children.
Above the Essential Plan line — a marketplace plan through NY State of Health, with tax credits applied in advance to the premium. This is the one with a season: open enrollment runs November 1 to January 31.
65 and older — Medicare, on its own calendar: October 15 to December 7.
Uninsured with no path to insurance — NYC Care. Not insurance: access to the city’s public hospital system, with no immigration requirement and no income cutoff for membership. 1-646-NYC-CARE.
Union households — union plans work differently again, with their own networks and their own rules at the front desk.
The thing most people get wrong
Assuming they don’t qualify. New York’s rules are broader than most states’, and the single application at NY State of Health screens for everything at once. Most people who “know” they earn too much have never entered their actual numbers into an actual application.
Second most common: using last year’s income. Eligibility runs on projected income for the current year, and pre-tax deductions reduce the figure programs measure. See MAGI.
After you pick a program, pick a network
On Medicaid, the Essential Plan and Child Health Plus, the state sets the benefits and they are identical across carriers. What differs is which doctors are in network — and that is the decision you feel every time you book an appointment. How to check it in an hour.
When something changes
Coverage questions mostly arrive attached to an event: a job ends, a birthday lands, a household splits, an income moves. Each one starts its own clock, most of them 60 days, and two of them New York makes considerably longer than the rest of the country.
Life changes and the clock each one starts — with a page for each situation, from turning 26 and the age-29 option to turning 65 and the Medicare penalty that never expires.
If none of this arrives in time
Coverage is the long fix. If you are holding a bill right now, hospital financial assistance works on its own timeline: New York caps what an uninsured patient can be charged, immigration status may not be considered, and you can apply after the bill — including after it goes to collections.
New for the 2027 season
The full calendar, October 2026 to April 2027 — every Medicare, marketplace and tax date in one table, with pages for the Annual Notice of Change, a Medicare plan that is leaving, the January-to-March Advantage window and the General Enrollment Period for Part B, plus what resets on January 1 and Form 1095-A at tax time.
Open enrollment dates and what changed, the premium tax credit after the enhanced credits expired, the 20-minute renewal checklist, coverage changes for lawfully present immigrants from January 1, 2027, Medicaid work requirements in 2027, and Medicare Advantage vs Original.
What kind of work you do changes the answer
Most coverage advice assumes a salaried job with a benefits department, which describes a minority of the people working in this city. For everyone else — 1099, cash, tips, shifts at three places, a gig platform — the rules are different, and in New York mostly better than people expect.
Coverage by the kind of work you do — including the fact that decides the most and is known the least: an injury at work is not a health insurance question, and workers’ compensation pays the whole medical bill with no copay and no deductible.
In this section
The Health Coverage Calendar for New Yorkers, October 2026 to April 2027
Every health coverage date that matters in New York from October 2026 to April 2027, in order: Medicare, the marketplace, January 1 changes and tax forms.
Which Health Program Are You Likely Eligible For in New York?
Answer five questions and see which New York health coverage programs are open to you — Medicaid, the Essential Plan, Child Health Plus, NYC Care, marketplace plans. Runs in your browser.
2026 Income Limits for Every New York Health Program, by Household Size
New York's 2026 income limits for Medicaid, the Essential Plan, Child Health Plus, NYC Care and hospital financial assistance, in one table by household size.
The Essential Plan in New York: Who Qualifies, What It Covers, What Changes in 2027
$0 monthly premium, no deductible, and no open enrollment window. Who the Essential Plan is for in 2026, what the numbered versions mean, how it differs from Medicaid, what changed on July 1, and what federal law changes for some immigrants in 2027.
NYC Care: Who Qualifies, What It Covers, What It Doesn't
NYC Care gives uninsured New Yorkers access to NYC Health + Hospitals regardless of immigration status or ability to pay. What it is, what it isn't, and how to join.
Mental Health Coverage in New York: What Your Plan Owes You
New York adds to federal parity: your copay for outpatient mental health at a licensed facility may not exceed your primary care copay. What plans must cover.
Medicaid in New York: Who Qualifies, How to Apply, How to Keep It
New York's Medicaid rules are broader than most states'. Who qualifies, how the application works, and the renewal mistake that costs people their coverage.
Lawfully Present Immigrants and Health Coverage in 2026–2027: What Ends, What Stays Open
From October 2026 and January 2027, federal law narrows coverage for many lawfully present immigrants. What New York keeps with state money, and what ends.
Open Enrollment in New York: 2027 Dates, Deadlines and What Changed
NY State of Health open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs November 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027, with December 15 as the cutoff for a January 1 start. Rates, subsidies and what to check before you renew.
Life Changes and Health Coverage in New York: Every Clock That Starts
Most life changes start a 60-day clock from the event, not the day you notice. Every deadline, the ones New York extends, and the programs with no season.
Coverage During Pregnancy in New York: The Rules Are Wider Than You Think
Medicaid covers pregnancy in New York regardless of immigration status, at income limits well above the ordinary ones, and coverage now runs for a full year after the pregnancy ends however it ends.
Buying Coverage on NY State of Health: A Walkthrough
How New York's marketplace works: what one application decides, how premium tax credits get paid in advance, and how they settle when you file taxes.
Dental Coverage on Medicaid in New York: What the 2024 Settlement Changed
Since January 31, 2024 New York Medicaid covers root canals, crowns and in many cases implants when medically necessary, and the old eight-teeth rule is gone.
Eye Exams and Glasses on Medicaid in New York
Medicaid covers a pair of glasses about once every 24 months, and more often when there is a documented reason. What counts as a reason, what happens if they break, and what the other programs cover.
Coverage by the Kind of Work You Do
Paid by 1099, cash, tips or a gig app? New York coverage rules for work without a benefits department are different, and mostly better than people expect.
Free and Low-Cost Health Coverage in New York City
Every program in New York City that costs nothing or close to it: Medicaid, the Essential Plan, Child Health Plus, NYC Care, health centers and hospital aid.
Health Insurance Companies in New York: Who They Are and How They Differ
On Medicaid and the Essential Plan, Healthfirst, Fidelis Care, MetroPlus and EmblemHealth sell the same benefits. You are choosing a network; check it by phone.
Child Health Plus: Coverage for Kids in New York
Child Health Plus covers children under 19 in New York regardless of immigration status, with family income limits far above the adult ones. How to apply.
Medicare in New York: What the Fall Season Actually Decides
Medicare's annual enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, 2026. What you can change in that window, what it does not touch, and how dual eligibility works.
Union Health Plans in New York: What They Cover and Who to Call First
Union health coverage in New York usually comes from a benefit fund, not an insurer, with eligibility tied to hours worked. What happens when hours drop.
You Just Lost Coverage: The First Week
Job loss, turning 26, a move, a divorce — each opens a 60-day window. What to do in the first days, and which New York programs ignore the calendar entirely.